Food cooking basket for a rotisserie oven

ABSTRACT

Enclosed rotisserie with added convenience, including a countertop resting box-like enclosure housing a safety rear mounted heating element and a power rotated dual rod spit assembly. The gear driven spit assembly may be easily inserted and removed straight into and out of the enclosure without need for angling or coupling the assembly to a power drive socket. The spit assembly may also be mounted at various distances from the heating element to decrease cooking times. The open front of the enclosure is from time to time covered by an inclined glass panel door which may be opened in various ways to facilitate food insertion into and removal from the enclosure, and which may be easily removed for cleaning or other purposes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/683,334 filed Mar. 7, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,500,428, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/370,622 filed Mar.7, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,225,729 which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/824,429 filed Apr. 2, 2001, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,021,203, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/502,940 filed Feb. 11, 2000, now abandoned, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/217,944 filed Dec.21, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,390, all of which are specificallyincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present inventions are directed toward cooking devices and inparticular toward enclosed horizontal rotisserie countertop cookingdevices and their accessories.

2. Background of the Invention

A rotisserie is defined by Webster's Dictionary as “an appliance fittedwith a spit on which food is rotated before or over a source of heat”.

Rotisserie cooking, particularly on traditional horizontal spits, isconsidered to be among the healthiest ways of preparing foods. Unlikeother cooking methods, unhealthy grease and oil are allowed to drip offall sides of the food while it is being cooked. Other cooking methodsallow grease and oil to settle into the top of the foods.

Rotisserie cooking is also among the most tasty methods of cooking.Contrasted with other cooking methods, moisture while cooking doesn'tsettle to the bottom of the food, allowing the top to dry out. Taste isenhanced too because foods, and particularly meats, self-baste duringthe rotisserie cooking process. This self basting both seals in flavorand moisture, and simultaneously adds flavors to the outside of the foodbeing cooked.

Rotisserie cooking is also among the easiest methods of cooking.Rotisserie foods require little or no seasonings to add flavor forreasons just mentioned. And, unlike many other methods of cooking,rotisserie cooking requires no, or virtually no, attention during theactual cooking process.

Among the most popular rotisseries in today's U.S. marketplace are thosefitted to outdoor grills. Generally these have a gear reduced electricmotor powering a single rod horizontal spit over a charcoal or gas firedheat source, with either an open-air or enclosed oven design.

These units have their shortcomings, particularly during inclementweather, or when it is very hot or very cold, or when flies, ants oryellow jackets are around, or when it's windy, etc.

Models among these units which have enclosed ovens in which rotisseriecooking is performed, usually have no internal light and no window oronly a small window to view the food while it's being cooked. Suchconstruction makes it difficult to check cooking progress.

And opening the doors on these enclosed oven units generally lets outthe hot cooking air which in turn slows cooking and makes gaging cookingtimes even more difficult.

And cooking results can be unpredictable on these units, particularly oncharcoal fired models due to variances in the heat source and outsideair.

The exteriors of these units generally get very hot and thus presentsafety considerations which may require warning labels and extra cautionon the part of the users.

Charcoal grills have additional inconveniences of having to start andmaintain their hot coals.

Starting charcoal fires or using bottled or other forms of gas may alsopresent safety hazards.

And hot grease dripping into glowing charcoal, gas flames or onto hotelectric coils may flare up.

In addition, the single rod spits used on most of these rotisseries maybe difficult to use and may not do an adequate job of supporting thefood being cooked.

Another popular rotisserie type in the U.S. market is the enclosedcountertop rotisserie having a vertically rotating spit. These typicallyhave limited capacity, such as being able to cook only a chickenweighing five pounds or less. Such capacity may be unsuitable forfamilies or for use at parties.

Also, many of these units have small door openings and hot oven wallswhich make it difficult to insert and remove food.

And usually when the door is opened it swings to one side where it isstill in the way of loading or unloading foods, especially when the dooris hot.

And because these units rotate foods about a vertical axis, the top halfof the food usually becomes dry even when the chef takes theinconvenient trouble to regularly baste.

And there are usually no provisions for putting smaller foods closer tothe heat source where they might cook faster.

Typically these units have very hot exteriors which may present safetyhazards requiring warning labels and extra user care.

Another rotisserie type becoming popular in the U.S. is the countertoptoaster oven with horizontal rotisserie spit.

These typically have capacity limitations similar to those found oncountertop rotisseries with vertical spits. They combine theselimitations with the difficulty of use of outdoor rotisseries with theirinadequate, awkward and limited use single rod spits.

Many of these countertop toaster ovens also present fire safety andsmoke hazards from heat rods which are directly next to grease drippans.

Most of these units have tight door openings and small oven cavitieswhich make it difficult to insert and remove foods, particularly whenthe units are hot.

And many of these units have thermostatically controlled heatingelements which cycle on and off and thus lengthen rotisserie cookingtime. Rotisseries are most efficient when they have a constant radiantheat source. A constant source of heat, however, requires a method ofefficiently removing heat from the cooking cavity which these unitstypically don't posses. Without efficiently removing heat, rotisserieoven interiors may overheat.

These units also typically have small door windows and little or nointerior lighting which makes it difficult to view cooking progress.

And their spits are very difficult to maneuver into place and pull outof the oven, both due to the small oven cavities and because of poormounting design. This is particularly true when the oven is hot.

In addition, when the doors open on these units, they generally swingdown or swing to one side where they are in the way of loading andunloading food, particularly when the doors are hot.

And their doors are generally complicated in construction, typicallyhaving a small piece of glass framed with several pieces of metal, theentire assembly which is then permanently hinged to the cooking cavity.

These units too generally have no means to bring smaller foods closer tothe heat source where they might cook faster.

Additionally, most rotisseries on the market today have severalshortcomings in common.

They are usually limited as to what they can cook. Small foods or foodsthat can't be skewered may not be mountable for cooking. Even wherebaskets that fit on the spits are available, they are difficult to useand generally do a poor job of holding some types of food.

Next, cleanup is very difficult on most units. This is because fewcomponents can be removed for cleaning, and areas which require a lot ofcleaning may be difficult to access, as an example, behind the heatingelements.

Most rotisseries can only rotisserie cook. They can't steam or heatother foods simultaneously while rotisserie cooking. This is importantbecause most people like vegetables or other side dishes to accompanytheir rotisserie cooked foods.

Most rotisseries occupy a large amount of space. This is particularlydetrimental for indoor units where kitchen space may be at a premium.

And few current rotisseries adequately display the food being cookedwhich, with rotisserie cooking, can be a taste tempting show in itself.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A preferred embodiment of the present inventions comprises a countertopresting box-like enclosure housing a safety rear mounted heating elementand a power rotated dual rod spit assembly.

The gear driven spit assembly may be easily inserted and removedstraight into and out of the enclosure without need for angling orcoupling the assembly to a power drive socket.

The spit assembly may also be mounted at various distances from theheating element to decrease cooking times.

The open front of the enclosure is from time to time covered by aninclined glass panel door which may be opened in various ways tofacilitate food insertion into and removal from the enclosure, and whichmay be easily removed for cleaning or other purposes.

The embodiment's design makes efficient use of valuable counter space byrecessing back and raising off the countertop its controls.

A contained light as well as room light emitted through the inclinedglass door illuminate the enclosure's interior to make the rotisseriecooking into a taste tempting show.

Two countertop supported sizes for the embodiment are suggested, one forlarger families and entertaining, and the other for small families andsingles.

Cooking times are decreased and manufacture simplified by the embodimentheating element remaining on constantly during the cooking process.

Maintenance is minimized by various embodiment parts being removable forcleaning including a cleaning shield located behind the heating element,the glass door, and a drip pan.

A variety of foods may be cooked using the spit and accessories thatattach to the spit. Such accessories include wire baskets and a rotatingstir fryer.

Foods may be cooked on top of the embodiment as well using an includedwarming tray and an inserted steaming tray with cover.

Grease-tight rotisserie/barbecue gloves make food handling easier andsafer, as can also be said for a spit support platform which supportsthe spit assembly for food mounting and carving.

Self-rotating kabob rods cook kabobs on all sides evenly and allow forincreasing rotisserie capacity by increasing the length of rotating rodsavailable for rotisserie food mounting.

DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the presentinventions showing phantom lines for various glass door positions.

FIG. 2 is a section view of the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1 asindicated in FIG. 8.

FIG. 3 is a broken out perspective view of the front lower right cornerof the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1 showing in phantom lines howthe glass door is mounted.

FIG. 4 is a broken out perspective view of the front lower left cornerof the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1 showing in phantom lines howthe glass door is mounted.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section of FIG. 1 showing details of the timer,control switch, heater indication light and the vents in the side wall.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the section shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is the same perspective view shown in FIG. 6 but with the spitplate removed and an alternative fan activated heat removal and cabinetcooling system installed.

FIG. 8 is a section taken through the alternative fan activatedpreferred embodiment shown in FIG. 7 as indicated in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a detailed perspective view of the light used to illuminatethe cooking interior of the preferred embodiments shown in FIGS. 1through 6 with the translucent red lens shown in dotted lines.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged detail of FIG. 1 showing in greater detail theupper left corner of the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a preferred spit assembly including aspit support platform.

FIG. 12 is a sectioned perspective view taken from below of the lid usedon the warming/steaming tray unit showing ribbing used to preventuncontrolled dripping of condensed liquids.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the spit assembly shown in FIG. 11mounting a rotary cooking container.

FIG. 13A is a perspective view of an alternative rotary cookingcontainer to the one shown in FIG. 13 but which does not require aseparate spit assembly in order to operate.

FIG. 14 is a broken perspective section of a kabob rod showing withphantom lines how it mounts into the spit plate.

FIG. 15 is a plan side view of the spit plate and kabob rod shown inFIG. 14 showing how the kabob rod is turned by the drive gear when thespit plate rotates.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a food cooking basket showing inphantom lines how the lid for the basket is mounted.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the food cooking basket shown in FIG.16 with food contained within the basket and the basket mounted on thespit assembly.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of an alternative spit support platform.

FIG. 19 shows the alternative spit support platform shown in FIG. 18being used to support spit mounted food including use of glovesspecifically designed for use in rotisseries.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

A preferred embodiment utilizing the present inventions comprises ametal enclosure 20 including an essentially horizontal metal floor 22and metal roof 24, a generally vertical metal back 26, and twoessentially vertical side walls including a double paneled right sidewall 28 and a double paneled left side wall 30, and an inclined glassfront door 32. A curved metal section 34 containing louver vents 238joins the generally vertical metal back 26 to the essentially horizontalmetal roof 24.

Two horizontal front-to-back running rod-like side rails 38 40, onelocated below the double paneled right side wall 28 and one disposedbelow the double paneled left side wall 30, support the metal enclosure20 and raise it off a countertop 42 or flat surface on which it mightrest. Four rubber feet 44 46 48 located on the bottom 52 of the siderails 38 40 keep the rails 38 40 from scratching countertops 42 and helpprevent the embodiment from skidding.

The side rails 38 40 have lifting handles 54 56 projecting from theirsides, one 54 projecting rightward from the right side rail 38, and one56 projecting leftward from the left side rail 40. These lifting handles54 56 allow the embodiment to be lifted and carried.

The side rails 38 40 also incorporate two cord winding projections 58 60extending rearward, one 58 from the back of the right side rail 38 andone 60 from the back of the left side rail 40. These cord windingprojections 58 60 serve to wrap the cord for shortening its length, orfor storing the cord while carrying the embodiment or during storage, orfor other reasons. The cord winding projections 58 60 also keep the back26 of the embodiment from directly contacting a vertical back wall.

The glass front door 32 is essentially a single flat panel of glass 64with a round steel axle rod 66 held along its lower edge 68 by a “U”shaped channel 70 which is silicone glued to both the lower edge 68 ofthe panel of glass 64 and the axle rod. This axle rod extends outward 7274 from both lower corners 76 78 of the panel of glass 64.

The rails 38 40 provide tracks 81 83 which engage and support the twoends 80 82 of the round steel axle rod 66 which extend horizontally fromeach lower corner of the lower edge 68 of the glass front door 32, andthis engagement with these tracks 81 83 controls movement of the glassfront door 32 to pivot downward 84 from the door's 32 closed position 85and to slide under 87 the metal enclosure 20.

In the upper right corner 86 of the panel of glass 64 and the upper leftcorner 88, there are two handles 90 92, one for each corner 86 88, whichhave rod-like grips 94 96 which extend horizontally outward 72 74 inopposite directions. By making the grips extend horizontally instead ofvertically, the overall height of the embodiment is minimized. This maybe particularly advantageous in placing the embodiment below overcounter cabinets or other overhead objects. The handle geometry is suchthat either handle 90 92 or both handles 90 92 may be easily used togrip and open or close the glass door 32, or slide it 32 under 87 themetal enclosure 20 or hold the door for other reasons such as removal.

The inclined glass door 32 may be held closed 85 by gravity alone,requiring no other latching mechanism. Thus, when compared to cookingenclosures having latches, this preferred embodiment door constructiongenerally: reduces required assembly parts, simplifies manufacturing,makes manufacturing tolerances wider, and makes user operation easierand more reliable.

When compared to a vertical glass door, the inclined glass door 32 alsotypically permits more ambient light to enter the cooking cavity andallows viewing of food being cooked from a broader range of verticalangles, thus making viewing of the food being cooked easier and moreconvenient. This in turn makes it easier to determine cooking progressand turns cooking of rotisserie food into an entertaining and tastetantalizing show.

A light 98 mounted between the panels 99 101 of the double paneled rightside wall 28 introduces additional light into the cooking cavity 104 andfurther adds to the food viewing advantages just stated. This light 98has a frosted translucent glass cover 100 which is in a contiguous planewith the interior wall 101 of the double paneled right side wall 28.This cover 100 separates the light bulb 98 from the cooking cavity 104.The light bulb 98 has a shiny metal reflector 106 behind it which backsonto the outside wall 99 of the double paneled right side wall 28. Thelight 98 is wired to come on any time the embodiment's heat coil 110 ison.

A translucent red colored lens 112 penetrates the reflector 106 locatedbehind the light bulb 98 and penetrates the outside panel 99 of thedouble paneled right side wall 28. Light shines through this red coloredlens from the light 98 whenever the light bulb 98 and thus the heat coil110 is on. This red colored lens 112 is visible on the outside of theright side wall 99 and gives a clear visible indication of when the heatcoil 110 is operating. Using a single light 98 to both illuminate theinterior of the cooking cavity 104, as well as give indication on theoutside of the embodiment of when the heat coil 110 is operating, cutsdown on required parts, simplifies embodiment construction, andincreases embodiment reliability. Such an operation warning light mayalso meet the requirements for an “on” indicator as set by safetyregulatory bodies such as Underwriters Laboratories. The lens color mayalso be changed, as an example to green, to match foreign safetystandards such as those established by TUV in Germany.

The glass door 32 is silk printed 114 118 with trademark, decoration andsafety markings. Such markings 114 may be printed in translucent inkswhich may be back lit by illumination from the light 98 mounted into thedouble paneled right side wall 28. Such glowing back lit markings 114may be thus made to be much more visible and dramatic, especially indark rooms, than similar common unlit markings.

Markings 114 on the panel of glass 64 may by placed to block glare fromlight 98 mounted into the double paneled right side wall 28 from shininginto viewer's eyes thus making the embodiment more pleasant to look atdue to less emitted light glare.

Markings 118 on the door 32 may match the color of the enclosure door 32frame 116 which backs portions of the glass door 32 when the door 32 isclosed 85. Such markings 118 when viewed against the background of thelike colored enclosure frame 116 when the door 32 is closed 85, may bevirtually invisible. When the glass door 32 is lowered 84, however, themarkings 118 may become very visible. Thus a warning marking such as“Caution—Hot Surface” 118 may be printed to appear mirror imaged andupside down over when it is virtually invisible while the door 32 isclosed 85 and the marking 118 is displayed against the like coloredframe 116 background. When the door 32 is lowered 84 and opened 134 87,however, the marking 118 may become clearly visible and appear in properorientation, that is right side up and not mirror imaged, readingcorrectly “Caution—Hot Surface”.

Any inclination past vertical may be used for the glass front door 32,but an angle between five and twenty-five degrees has been found to bemost advantageous for producing satisfactory door latching and foodviewing, as well as for conserving valuable countertop space. Too flat aglass angle stretches out the bottom of the enclosure and consumes anunacceptable amount of countertop space. Too steep a glass angle won'tallow proper door latching and provides a poor view of foods beingcooked. Inclining the front of the enclosure increases the enclosure'sfootprint on a countertop and thus increases its stability and decreasesany tendency to tip over or be accidentally moved.

The preferred embodiment may be constructed at any scale. However, twosizes have been found to be particularly advantageous. For largefamilies, or for parties and entertaining, an enclosure with cookingcavity 104 interior dimensions between eleven and thirteen inches wideside to side, ten to twelve inches from the cooking cavity ceiling 142to the top of the drip pan 120, as explained later herein, and ten totwelve inches deep from the inside of the glass door 32 to the front ofthe heating rods 110, as explained later, as measured horizontallymidway between the ceiling 142 and the top of the drip pan 120. Whenconstructed at this scale, the embodiment can cook a fifteen poundturkey, or two six pound chickens. Fifteen pound turkeys are consideredamong the largest turkeys commonly sold around Thanksgiving andChristmas. And six pound chickens are among the largest commonly soldpopular chickens sold in US supermarkets. Thus such a size meets theneeds of most large families or people who entertain.

A second advantageous size meets the needs of smaller families, peoplewho live alone, or people with very small kitchens. For these markets, acooking cavity 104 with interior dimensions between nine and eleveninches wide, seven to nine inches from the cooking cavity ceiling to thetop of the drip pan, and seven to nine inches deep from the inside ofthe glass door 32 to the front of the heating rods is particularlyadvantageous. When constructed at this scale, the embodiment can cook asix pound chicken, or two three pound chickens. Three pound chickens areamong the smallest commonly sold chickens. This size thus meets theneeds of most smaller families or people who live alone.

The inclined glass front door 32 may rotate downward 84 and followingsuch rotation to an essentially horizontal position 85, slide under 87the metal enclosure 20 with glass front door's 32 axles 80 82 engaginginto the tracks 81 83 in the two front-to-back side rails 38 40. In thisslid-under position 87, the top 126 of the glass door 32 is held off thecountertop 42 by flat horizontal ribs 91 93 in the side rails 38 40.Also in the slid-under position 87, the glass door 32 is out of the wayof foods being loaded into or removed from the cooking cavity 104. Thisis particularly advantageous when the door 32 is hot and user contactwith it might cause burns.

Alternatively, the enclosure 20 may be placed on the edge 30 of acountertop 42 and the glass door 32 may be rotated below the countertop42 level 132 where it will also be out of the way of food loading andunloading.

As a third alternative, the glass door 32 may be opened 134 onto acountertop by being rotated down 84 from its closed position 85 to thecountertop.

The glass front door 32 is also removable for cleaning, food loading, orother purposes.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, this removal is accomplished by moving thedoor's 32 left axle 82 out of engagement with the track 83 in the leftside rail 40 by sliding the axle 82 through a slot 138 located in thefront of the left side rail 40. After this, the right axle 80 is pulledout of engagement with the track 81 in the right side rail 38 by movingthe glass door 32 and the attached right axle 80 to the left 140, awayfrom the right rail 38. Reinstalling the glass door 32 is done byreversing the above procedure.

Several advantages come from using what is essentially a single panel ofglass 64 for the front door 32. First, unlike most other framed glassconstructions, the door 32 may be washed in a dishwasher, or sink, orimmersed in liquid.

Second, when compared to doors which have framed glass, construction isgenerally: simpler, has fewer parts, is less expensive, and is lighterin weight for comparable transparent viewing area. Appearance is alsotypically cleaner. And the viewing area is unsurpassed compared to mostother constructions.

On top 142 of the metal enclosure 20 may rest a warming/steaming trayunit 144 comprising a lower heating pan 146, an intermediate steamingtray 148 with holes 149 in its floor which rests down into the lowerheating pan 146, and a warming tray lid 150 which caps and encloses boththe lower heating pan 146 and the intermediate steaming tray 148.

This unit is supported by four frustum conical feet 152 projecting fromnear each of the four corners of the bottom of the lower heating pan146, each of the feet 152 which rests into its own two level invertedwedding cake shaped support indention 154 located near each of thecorners of the roof 24 of the metal enclosure 20. Each foot 152 may restin the lower most level of each such indention 154 allowing directcontact between the roof 24 of the metal enclosure 20 and the floor 156of the lower heating pan 146; or each foot 152 may rest at the nextlevel up of each indention 154 providing an air space 158 between theroof 24 of the metal enclosure 20 and the floor of the lower heating pan146, thus lowering the temperature of the floor 156 of the lower heatingpan 146 and the temperature inside the warming/steaming tray unit 144.Such temperature control may be used in warming, cooking or steamingfoods or in any combination of these functions or other functions—i.e.steaming vegetables and then keeping them warm.

The warming/steaming tray unit 144 may be used to warm, cook or steamfoods, either simultaneous with rotisserie cooking or independent of it.And it may perform these functions either with or without theintermediate steaming tray 148 in place, and either with or without thewarming tray lid 150 in place.

Handles 160 on either side of the heating pan 146 make it easy to liftthe entire warming/steaming tray unit 144, with or without theintermediate streaming tray 148, and with or without the warming traylid 150 in place. As an extra measure of convenience, the placement ofthe warming/steaming tray feet 152 is symmetrical both front to back andside to side thus allowing the user to place it 144 on top of the metalenclosure 20 with a given heating pan handle 160 on the right side or onthe left side of the metal enclosure 20.

Water may be placed in the lower heating pan 146 and the intermediatesteaming tray 148 put in place to facilitate the steaming of vegetablesor other foods.

When foods are being steamed or when moist foods are being heated in thewarming/steaming tray unit 144, droplets of water generally condense onthe warming tray lid 150. These droplets may present a safety hazardwhen the user lifts off the lid because the droplets may be hot and tendto run to the side of the lid 150 and drop onto the user when the lid islifted and tilted. As shown in FIG. 12, to help prevent this fromhappening, the lid 150 has several concentric “V” shaped ribs 151 on theunderside of its top surface. When the lid 150 is lifted and tilted,water droplets on this surface begin to run to the side of the lid 150.En route to the side of the lid 150, most of the water droplets crossthe concentric “V” shaped ribs 151 and drop safely back into theintermediate steaming tray 148 or lower heating pan 146, thus preventingburns which might occur if the “V” shaped ribs 151 were not present andthe hot water droplets dripped onto the embodiment user.

The warming tray lid 150 may be constructed of any of many suitablematerials. It would be advantageous for it 150 to be translucent ortransparent so cooking or steaming progress as well as the food beingcooked could be observed without removing the lid 150. Glass or plasticssuch as polypropylene, polycarbonate, or Ultem™ from GE Plastics mightbe suitable for use in constructing the lid 150 as examples.

The warming tray lid 150 has a handle 153 in the center of its outsidetop surface to help in its use. This handle 153 is textured to helpprevent slippage.

Within the metal enclosure 20, resting on its floor 22, is a drip pan120 which mounts inside it, and is covered by, a grate cover 162. Thedrip pan 120 collects grease, oil, and liquid which come from the foodbeing rotisserie cooked.

The grate cover 162 is a metal cover perforated with slots 163 whichreduces splashing, and smoke, and flares from liquids from therotisserie cooked foods splashing and hitting heat coils 110 and otherhot surfaces, and diminishes the risk fire from hot grease and oilinside which has dripped from rotisserie cooking food into the drip pan120 becoming overheated and igniting. The drip pan 120 and capping gratecover 162 may be pulled out 164 to facilitate their own cleaning, or theembodiment's interior cleaning, or for other purposes.

The grate cover 162 and underlying drip pan 120 both tend to get dirtyduring rotisserie cooking. In the preferred embodiment, both are coveredon their upper sides with a nonstick coating similar to that used innonstick fry pans. Such coating greatly reduces cleanup, particularly onthe grate cover 162 which may get grease, oil and residue dripped on itwhile simultaneously being exposed to high heat from the heat coil 110which bakes the drippings on.

As shown in FIG. 2, the drip pan 120 may be pulled out part way 166 toprevent grease and oil from dripping onto counter tops or the glassfront door 32 when food is being prepared for cooking in the spit trackrest position 168, as explained later, or when food is being removedfrom the metal enclosure 20 after cooking.

Adding to user convenience, the grate cover 162 and drip pan 120 areeach square, thus allowing the user to place the grate cover 162 in thedrip pan 120 with any given corner of the grate cover 162 resting in anycorner of the drip pan 120, and allowing the drip pan 120 to be placedin the metal enclosure 20 with any of its four corners resting in anycorner of the metal enclosure 20.

As shown in FIG. 11, the embodiment's spit assembly 170 comprises afirst metal spit plate 172 and a second metal spit plate 174. The firstmetal spit plate 172 has two sharpened cylindrical spit rods 176 178attached at right angles to it. This first metal spit plate 172 iscircular in outline with gear teeth 180 on its periphery and eightevenly spaced essentially round kabob holes 182 penetrating it justinside of and adjacent to the gear teeth 180. These kabob holes 182 arefor supporting kebob rods 184 as explained later.

The center of the first metal plate 172 is frustum conically indentedaway from the projecting attached spit rods with a stub axle 186projecting from the back bottom center of the plate's 172 frustumconical indent.

The stub axle 186 has circular grooves 188 cut into its cylindricalperiphery. These grooves 188 help to prevent squeaking from the stubaxles rubbing against their support tracks 198 200, described later,when the spit assembly 170 is rotating.

The second metal spit plate 174 is the mirror image of the first metalspit plate 172 except in place of the two attached spit rods 176 178 ithas two short spit rod support tubes 192 attached. These tubes 192receive, and hold by an overlapping friction fit, the sharpened ends ofthe two spit rods 176 178.

Foods are secured to the spit simply by running one or both of the twosharpened spit rods 176 178 through the food and then capping the rodsby pushing the tubes 192 in the second spit plate 174 over the sharpenedends of the spit rods 176 178 projecting from the first spit plate 172.The food is then easily inserted into the embodiment as explained later.

The spit assembly 170 of the preferred embodiment has several advantagesover other available spit assemblies. It's compact and efficient in theuse of space both inside and outside the cooking cavity 104. Because thespit assembly 170 is placed straight into the cooking cavity withoutangling or sliding into a drive socket, and because no drive forks orother space robbing mechanisms are required to hold even large and heavypieces of food, almost the entire length of the spit rods 176 178, whichrun almost the full width of the cooking cavity 104 from the interiorleft oven wall 103 to the interior right oven wall 101, may be used tocook food. Other available spit rods, because they must be angled intoplace and slid into a drive socket are far less efficient in cookingspace utilization.

Also, with the spit rods 176 178 on the preferred embodiment there is noloss of space outside the cooking cavity 104 while foods are beingloaded into or are being cooked in the cooking cavity 104. Otheravailable spit rods have handles which project beyond their cookingenclosure and waste valuable counter space.

The spit assembly 170 on the preferred embodiment, as explained earlier,with its dual spit rod 176 178 design, holds foods more firmly thanother single spit rod designs. This advantage means that even heavy andlarge foods rotate solidly with the spit assembly 170 and don't becomeloose and flop or fall off the rods 176 178. On other spit rod designs,foods tend to shift while rotating and become loose and fall off thespit rods when this looseness bores a hole through the food beingcooked.

The spit assembly 170 on the preferred embodiment, as explained in moredetail later herein, also integrates the mounting of self-rotating kabobrods into its design. Many other spit rod designs don't even plan forthe mounting of non-rotating kabob rods.

And the spit assembly 170 on the preferred embodiment, as also explainedin more detail later herein, also allows for the easy and solid mountingof other cooking accessories such as cooking baskets 270. Other spitrods designs may make no such provisions.

The spit assembly 170 on the preferred embodiment makes food mountingeasy. The food is simply pushed onto the two relatively skinny and sharpspit rods 176 178, the second spit plate 174 slid into place, and theassembly, food and all, is placed directly into the cooking cavity 104.Other designs have thicker spit rods which are more difficult to shovethrough foods, and these designs may require hard to use accessories,such as mounting forks, to secure the foods from rotating independentlyof the spit while cooking, and placing foods into their cookingenclosures is more difficult, as explained in the next paragraph.

The spit assembly 170 on the preferred embodiment is easy and intuitiveto load into the cooking cavity 104. The assembly 170 is simply shoveddirectly into the cooking cavity without angling or having to align itsend with and slide it into a drive socket. Other designs with drivesockets or other complicated drive means are far more difficult to use.

And foods are easy to unload from the preferred embodiment's spitassembly 170. The assembly 170 is simply slide straight-out of thecooking cavity 104, the second spit plate 174 easily removed, and thefoods slid off the two rods 176 178. Other spit rods are difficult toremove from their cooking enclosures, some requiring the attachment ofhandles or lifting devices, and/or angling to uncouple drive mechanisms,and may require the additional steps of removal of accessories, such asfood mounting forks.

The spit assembly 170 on the preferred embodiment may be mounted closerto the cooking heat source 110 to speed cooking of smaller foods. Otherspit rod designs don't offer this feature.

Cleaning of the spit rods 176 178 is enhanced by nonstick coating,similar to that used in nonstick fry pans, covering their surfaces whichcontact food during cooking. The ends of the spit rods may be leftuncoated to facilitate the easy insertion of the rods 176 178 into thespit rod support tubes 192.

To facilitate food loading onto the spit assembly, a spit support base194 is supplied with the preferred embodiment. This spit support base194 can hold the first spit plate 172 with its spit rods 176 178projecting directly upward. In this position, foods can be easily loadedonto the spit rods 176 178 by lowering the foods onto the pointed endsof the rods 176 178.

In addition, the spit support base 194 can be used to help in serving.In this capacity, the support base 194, possibly after being placed ontop of a plate, can hold foods skewered on the vertically disposed spitrods 176 178 while the food is being removed from the spit rods 176 178or while the food is being carved.

A variant 196 of the spit support base 194 shown in FIGS. 18 and 19expands the diameter of the support base 194 and allows the expandeddiameter support base 196 to be used for all of the original 194 supportbase's functions plus it may be used as a serving plate for foods eithernot skewered or positioned on vertically supported spit rods 176 178. Inaddition, this larger variant 196 may eliminate any need for a platewhen the support base is used as a serving platform holding the spitassembly 170 with its rods 176 178 disposed vertically.

As shown in FIG. 19, this spit support base variant 196 may also be usedto help load and unload foods into and from the embodiment. Here, thesupport base 196 is placed under the food, and the support base 196along with the food which it supports is lifted and moved to load thefood into, or remove the food from, the enclosure 20.

Similarly, any dish shaped device might be used to help load and unloadfood to and from the enclosure 20. Such a shape is enhanced for this useif its perimeter is raised in a manner similar to that found on a soupbowl. Such a raised perimeter helps better support the foods beinginserted into or removed from the enclosure 20 and more reliably holdsliquids which may drip form such foods.

Either the original 194 or the variant 196 spit support base may be usedto keep the spit assembly 170 from rolling on a countertop. Here, one ofthe spit plates 172 174 is placed into either an upright or invertedspit support base 194 196 resting on the countertop which thus preventsthe spit assembly 170 from rolling by providing a stable indention, i.e.either the top face or bottom face of the support base 194 196 restingflat on the counter, in which one of the round spit plates 172 174 mayrest.

Because there are two spit rods 176 178, foods may be penetrated by bothrods 176 178 and thus the foods may be securely held and prevented fromspinning independent of the spit assembly's 170 rotation, or preventedfrom dropping off the spit assembly 170. This compares to conventionalsingle rod spit designs which tear holes in food because all the food'sweight is supported on a single rod. Foods supported on such single rodsmay break loose and fail to turn as the spit turns because of inadequatetortional support engagement between the spit and the food. Foods mayalso fall off of single spit rods due to inadequate weight distributionand support, and because food movement not synchronized with the spittends to tear holes in the foods which results in the foods tearingloose of the spit.

In addition, many single spit rods use clamped-on support forkspositioned at each end of the spit rod supported food to compensate forfood tearing and spinning independently of the spit assembly. Thesesupport forks frequently cause further problems by being difficult andinconvenient to install and remove as well as by shortening the lengthof food that can fit on the spit rods because of the space the supportforks consume.

Once the spit 170 is fully assembled with the food skewered on the spitrods 176 178 and the tubes 192 projecting from the second metal spitplate slid over and capping the pointed ends of the spit rods 176 178orthogonally projecting from the first metal spit plate 172, the spitassembly 170 is ready to be loaded into the embodiment enclosure 20.

The double paneled right side wall 28 and the double paneled left sidewall 30 each contain an indented spit support track 198 200 on theirinterior panels 101 103. In the preferred embodiment, the spit supporttrack 200 on the interior panel 103 of the left double paneled side wall30 is a mirror image of the spit support track 198 on the interior panel101 of the right double paneled side wall 28.

These two spit support tracks 198 200 engage the stub axles 186 on thespit plates 172 174 when the spit assembly 170 is slid into theenclosure 20. The tracks 198 200 allow the spit assembly 170, includingany spit accessories or any food thereon, to slide in and out of theenclosure 20. In addition, each track 198 200 has three axle positioningindents 168 122 202 which can support and hold the stub axles 186, andthus the spit assembly 170 in specific track 198 200 locations.

The first 168 of these axle positioning indents 168 122 202 is locatedon each track 198 200 adjacent to the door 32 opening. This indent 168is referred to as the rest position and has several functions. First,when loading or unloading food from the embodiment, it may be firstrested in this position 168 where a better grip may be obtained on thefood or where it simply may be rested. It also serves as the firstlocation to catch the spit assembly 170 as it's being loaded into theembodiment, and the last location to catch the spit assembly 170 beforeit leaves.

It also serves as an area to prepare food. As an example, in the restposition 168 foods can be centered on the spit rod, or ties to securethe wings and legs on a chicken might be readjusted, or barbecue saucecan be brushed on a chicken or baby back ribs, or seasonings applied toother foods.

When the rest position 168 is being used for food preparation, it may beadvantageous to pull the drip pan 120 and attached grate cover 162 totheir part way out position 166, as explained earlier, to keep foods andpreparations from dripping or dropping onto the countertop or glassdoor.

The rest position 168 on each spit support track 198 200 is backed by anupwardly inclined track portion 204. This inclined track 204, combinedwith the large open front throat of the track and rest position 168,makes it easy to catch the spit assembly 170 and hold it in the restposition 168 when it's inserted into the enclosure 20, and it makes itobvious that the spit assembly 170 has been caught in the rest position168 when it is being removed from the enclosure 20.

The tracks' 198 200 lowered front portions allows foods to duck underthe enclosure's roof 24 front overhang 206, thus allowing larger foodsto be loaded into the enclosure 20. The roof 24 front overhang 206 isnecessary to give strength to the front of the roof 24, and withoutlowering the front of the track, the size of the foods which might beloaded into the enclosure 20 could be reduced and be smaller than thecapacity of the enclosure 20 itself.

When the spit assembly 170 is being loaded into the enclosure 20, theassembly 170 first passes the rest position 168, then the inclined trackportion 204, and next it comes to the low heat position 122 where itsstub axles 186 can be engaged by gravity into a detent 168 122 202 androtate. In the low heat position 122 the gear teeth 180 on the perimeterof the spit plate closest to the right side inner side wall 101 engage amotor driven drive gear 208 which penetrates into the enclosure throughthe right side inner side wall 101. The spit assembly 170 and any spitaccessories or food thereon, may be rotated by this motor driven drivegear 208 in front of the embodiment's rear heating element 110, which isdescribed later herein.

A quick and easy method of tying up loose parts of foods to berotisserie cooked has been found using the spit support track 200, timer222 and control switch 224. As an example wings and legs on chickens,ducks and turkeys can be easily secured using this method. First, theend of a length of string is secured to a wing, leg or other part of thefowl using a simple wrap or a slip knot as examples. In the alternative,the end of the string might be indirectly secured to the fowl bysecuring the string to the spit assembly 170. This might be done whilethe fowl is supported on the spit assembly 170 in the spit support track200 rest position 168 or while the fowl is outside the embodiment. Next,the spit assemble is moved back to either the low heat 122 or high heat202 spit support track 200 position. The control switch 224 is thenturned to the “no heat rotation” 252 position and the timer turned on.As the fowl rotates, the string automatically wraps around the fowl'sloose parts thus securing them. Once secured, the timer is turned off,the string is cut, and its end tied or wrapped or otherwise secured tothe fowl on a wing, leg or other part. In the alternative again, the cutend of the string might be indirectly secured to the fowl by securingthe end to the spit assembly 170.

The direction of spit assembly 170 rotation is important in producingsatisfactory cooking results. The embodiment's heating element 110 islocated half way up, and directly adjacent to, the back 26 wall of theenclosure 20. The drive gear 208 rotates the spit assembly 170 so foodrotate 175 from the top of the enclosure 20 down to directly in front ofthe heating element 110 and then down to the bottom of the enclosurewhere the food rotates 175 back to the top of the enclosure 20 while thefood faces away from the heating element 110. Reversing this rotation175 has been found to result in smoke, small flare-ups and less tastyfood.

The speed of spit assembly rotation has also been found to be importantin producing rotisserie cooked foods with generally superior taste andtexture. The preferred embodiment has a spit assembly 170 rotation speedof between 3.5 and 5 rpm. This is typically faster than most homerotisseries operate.

The low heat position 122 may support large foods up to the capacity ofthe enclosure 20. However, it may also support foods of any sizeincluding smaller sized foods. In some cases the low heat position 122may be desirable to cook smaller foods slower as an example.

Rotisserie cooking in the preferred embodiment differs in several waysfrom conventional oven cooking. First, in conventional oven cooking thefood remains stationary and is cooked by hot air. In the preferredembodiment, food is rotated about a horizontal axis and is cooked by acombination of both radiant energy coming directly from the heat coil110 and air heated by the heat coil 110. Radiant energy is generallymore efficient than hot air in conveying cooking energy to food and thustypically gets foods hotter quicker.

However without food rotation, radiant energy tends to dry out and burnfoods as is the case in most conventional oven broilers. Also, withoutfood rotation, radiant energy tends to cook grease and oil into foods,and particularly into meats.

Rotisserie cooking in the preferred embodiment is generally quicker thanconventional oven cooking. This is partly due to the efficiency ofradiant energy heating and also due to food movement which helps breakthe air boundary layer around foods being cooked and thus speeds hot airheat transfer to foods in a similar manner to fan driven home convectionbake ovens.

Cooking speed is also increased because foods are alternately superheated on their surfaces as they pass directly in front of the heatingcoil and then the heat is allowed to soak into the foods as they rotateaway from the heating coil.

Natural expansion and contraction as foods heat and cool during rotationalso helps speed the cooking process and lower cooking times.

Directly behind and above the low heat track position 122, is the highheat track position 202. Again, the stub axles 186 of the spit assembly170 may be pushed back, raised and rested into this position. In thisposition the gear teeth 180 in the perimeter of the spit plate closestto the right side inner side wall 101 may engage the drive gear 208 andthe spit assembly 170 may be thus power rotated. Smaller foods may berotated closer to the heating element 110 in the high heat trackposition 202 which may greatly reduce such smaller foods' cooking times.

Inserting the spit assembly 170 into the preferred embodiment requiresonly resting it on the left and right spit support tracks 200 198 andlifting and pushing it back into the enclosure 20 to the desired useposition 168 122 202, be it the rest position 168, the low heat position122 or the high heat position 202.

Removing the spit assembly 170 from the high heat track position 202,the low heat track position 122, or from the rest track position 168,requires only lifting and pulling the spit assembly 170 toward the frontof the enclosure 20.

This easy insertion of the spit assembly 170 into, and simple removal ofthe spit assembly 170 from, the embodiment enclosure 20 is in markedcontrast to most other rotisseries which typically require angling thespit rod assembly into its cooking position and carefully fitting one ofthe spit assembly's ends into a drive socket.

Use of the relatively large diameter spit plates 172 174 as the finalreduction gear in the motor rotational speed reducing gear train drivingthe spit assembly 170 has several advantages when compared with typicalrotisserie drives which use a gear box terminated by a drive socketdirectly coupled to the spit rod.

The spit plate's 172 174 large outer diameter gear 180 greatly reducesthe play and backlash in the motor speed reduction gear drive traincaused when off-center weighted foods are rotated. In this situation themotor pushes off-center foods uphill until the off-center weight swingsover the top of center and then moves downhill constrained by the dragof the motor. The shift from the motor pulling the food uphill to themotor constraining the food's movement downhill causes a shock load onall the gears in the gear reduction train, and particularly on the finaldrive gears, as any free movement, or play, between the gears in thegear train shifts with the full power of the off-center weighted foodsbehind it.

Typical final drive gears found in rotisserie drive trains are one-tenthor less of the diameter of the spit plate's outer gear teeth 180 andthus generally are far less durable, have far more play, and put farmore load on both the spit and attached food, and on the rest of thereduction drive gear train itself. This in turn may result in shortermotor and gear life, food disengaging from and falling off of the spitrod, and unacceptable levels of noise and vibration.

The speed reduction between the drive gear 208 and the gear teeth 180 onthe spit plate 172 174 is ten-to-one in the preferred embodiment but maybe greater or less depending on the desired diameter of the spit plateand the coarseness needed in the gear teeth. In the preferredembodiment, such a high gear reduction outside of the gear transmission210 attached to the gear reduced motor 212 means that fewer and lessdurable, which may translate to less expensive, gears may be used insidethe gear transmission 210 attached to the gear reduced motor 212.

And by eliminating the drive socket which is generally used to attachthe spit assembly to the final drive gear of the motor speed reducinggear transmission, any play in the socket engagement with the spitassembly or any binding in inserting or removing the spit assembly intoand from the drive socket are eliminated.

Both the first 172 and the second spit plates 174 each have eight evenlyspaced kabob holes 182 penetrating their structure just inside theirperimeter gear teeth 180. These holes 182 are designed to hold the endsof self rotating kabob rods 184. Each kabob hole 182 is essentiallycircular hole passing through the spit plate 172 174 with four evenlyspaced semicircular lobes 214 carved into its perimeter.

Engaging these kabob holes 182 are self-rotating kabob rods 184. Eachkabob rod 184 has a pointed end 216, and an end with a drive cam 218 andretaining spring 220. The kabob rods 184 work by the spit assembly 170first being put together with the spit rod holding tubes 192 on thesecond spit plate 174 being pushed over the pointed ends of the two spitrods 176 178 projecting from the first spit plate 172.

Each kabob rod 184 to be used is then loaded with food by skewering thefood onto the kabob rod 184 using its pointed end 216. Any number ofkabob rods 184 may be used at any one time, from one up to the spitassembly's 170 capacity of eight.

To insert a kabob rod 184 onto the spit assembly 170, the pointed end216 of the kabob rod 184 is inserted through a kabob hole 182 in thespit plate 172 174 which will be closest to the inner panel 103 ofdouble paneled left wall 30. Then the rod 184 is backed into an opposinghole 182 in the other spit plate 172 174 where the retaining spring 220,as its widest 183 part passes through the kabob hole, snaps and retainsthe kabob rod 184 from side to side movement away from or toward eitherspit plate 172 174 similar to the way a clothing snap works. Thisinsertion process is easy and intuitive and is repeated for each kabobrod 184 to be used.

Insertion of the kabob rods 184 onto the spit assembly 170 may be donewhile the spit assembly 170 is outside of the enclosure 20 or while itis placed in a track position inside the enclosure 20, such, as anexample, as being placed in the rest position 168.

The spit assembly 170 with attached kabob rods 184 is then inserted intothe low heat track position 122, and the embodiment turned on by settingthe cooking time on the timer 222 and turning the control switch 224 tothe “Normal Heat Rotation” position.

As shown in FIG. 15, each 360 degree rotation 175 of the spit assembly170 causes each kabob rod 184 to be rotated 177 one-quarter turn by thekabob rod's 184 drive cam 218 being rotated by the spit plate 172 174into the drive gear 208 which forces one of the kabob rod's cam 218 armsstriking the drive gear 208 to move and consequently causes theone-quarter turn rotation of the kabob rod 184.

The four lobes 214 in each of the spit plate 172 174 kabob holes 182help stop each kabob rod 184 at even one-quarter turn intervals, andalso help prevent a kabob rod 184 from rotating in its kabob hole 182when it is not being driven by the drive gear 208 pushing on the kabobrod cam 218.

This kabob rod 184 automatic rotation results in all sides of the kabobrod cooked food being cooked evenly, unlike in most rotisserie kabobcooking where one side of the kabob food gets cooked more than theopposite side.

The kabob rods 184 on the preferred embodiment are better than otherscommonly available for several reasons. First, they 184 mayautomatically rotate, as explained above, which cooks kabob foods moreevenly on all sides than non-rotating rods.

Second, one, or up to the spit wheel's capacity of eight kabob rods, canbe in use at any time. Some kabob rods require the entire transportwheel to be loaded with kabob rods in order to operate.

Third, the rods 184 can be inserted or removed while the rods 184 areinside the cooking cavity 104. Many kabob rods require a lot of space tobe inserted or removed from their transport wheel, and thus they couldnot be inserted and removed from inside a confined cooking space.

Next, the rods 184 are very efficient in space utilization and allowfoods to be placed along most of the rod's 184 entire length. Along withthis, the rod's 184 means of attaching to their transport wheels 172 174is compact and therefor allows more room for cooking foods with lesswasted space for attachment to the transport wheels 172 174. Many kabobrods use a substantial portion of their length for coupling which limitstheir cooking space.

And the kabob rods 184 intuitively snap into place which makes them easyto use. This also generally removes the need for user instructions. Manykabob rods have complicated coupling mechanisms which are both difficultto use and require detailed user instructions.

The rods 184 offer the ability for each rod 184 to automatically rotateor remain stationary at the user's discretion and in any combination(i.e. 3 rotating and 2 remaining stationary all simultaneously) simplyby the user facing the rod's cam 218 toward or away from the drive gear208 side of the cooking cavity 104. This feature is not found on otherkabob rod designs.

And when the rods 184 are stationary, bacon, slabs of baby back ribs orother foods may be wrapped around and clipped to the rods in drum-likefashion for fast even cooking.

As most clearly shown in FIG. 8, directly adjacent to, and approximatelyhalf way up the back 26 of the enclosure 20 of the preferred embodiment,is a serpentine shaped electric heat coil 110. This coil 110 winds backand forth across the back 26 of the enclosure 20 creating four straightheat rods 226 terminated by three “U” turns 228 and two rods passingthrough the enclosure's right side interior wall. The coil is supportedon its right and left ends by support brackets 230 232 which slide overthe “U” turns 228 in the coil and position it to allow for expansion andcontraction as the coil heats and cools, while maintaining the coil'scorrect position.

This heat coil 110, unlike heating elements in conventional ovens whichturn on and off under thermostatic control, may remain constantly onduring cooking. This minimizes cooking times and simplifies embodimentconstruction when compared to rotisseries which cycle on and off whilecooking. Alternatively the heat coil 110 may be thermostaticallycontrolled and forgo these advantages.

Through the constantly on heat coil 110, the embodiment is continuouslyheating air inside the enclosure 20, and is constantly radiating cookingenergy. By being constructed to have a heating element 110 which remainsconstantly on and thus having no thermostat, the preferred embodimentobviates the need for safety devices such as safety thermostats andthermal fuses designed to protect the device if a user set thermostatshould fail. This further simplifies construction of the embodiment whencompared to most conventional oven constructions.

Some rotisseries place their heating elements or sources of heat belowthe spit. This may create safety problems from grease fires and flareups. When grease, oil and residue collected in drip receptacles belowthe spit become overheated from a heating source located below the spit,smoke and fires can result. When grease, oil or other residue drip orsplash onto heating elements, other heat sources, or other hot surfaces,fire and smoke can also result. Heat sources located below the spit alsotend to raise the overall height of the rotisserie which may be aproblem when it is used in kitchens with cabinets located over theircountertops.

Some enclosed rotisseries place their heating source above the spitassembly. These elements, due to their locations, and because bothradiant and convection heat given off by the elements tends to rise, aregenerally less efficient than heat sources placed lower in the cookingenclosure 20. This high position also tends to raise the overall heightof the rotisserie which may be a problem when they are used in kitchenswith cabinets located over their countertops. This problem is compoundedby top mounted heating sources superheating the top of the cookingenclosure 20 which in turn may cause heat damage to over-countercabinets. Such superheating may also create heat and fire safetyhazards.

Both low and roof mounted heating elements, because they may have theirheat sources located near the middle or front of the rotisserie, maycreate an increased potential for users burning their hands wheninserting and removing foods from the rotisserie enclosure when comparedto a back mounted heating element.

By the preferred embodiment placing its heating element in the back 26of the enclosure 20, risk is minimized that a user will burn themselveson the element 110 or element heated hot surfaces.

By the preferred embodiment placing its heating element mid way betweenthe floor 22 and ceiling 24 of the embodiment enclosure 20, problems ofboth low and high mounted heat sources are overcome. As an example, thismid way heating element 110 location helps minimize the overall heightof the embodiment, and greatly reduces any chance of smoke and firesfrom the contents of the drip pan becoming overheated or from grease,oil or other residues splashing onto heat coil 110 or heat coil warmedhot surfaces.

When compared to roof mounted heat elements, this mid location alsoreduces the temperature of the roof 24 of the embodiment, thus reducingthe risk of heat damage to over-counter cabinets and the risk of burningusers on the roof 24.

This mid location in the preferred embodiment is also generally moreefficient in conveying cooking energy than heat coils mounted above thespit assembly 170.

This mid location, when compared to heat elements located above or belowthe spit which generally are closer to the front of the enclosure, alsotends to reduce the temperature on the outside of the front door 32,including the front door 32 glass, which in turn reduces the risk a userwill burn themselves on these surfaces.

The mid heat element 110 location in general, when compared to heatelement locations above or below the spit assembly, reduces alltemperatures on the forward exterior of the enclosure 20 where users aremost likely to come in contact and potentially burn themselves. This ingeneral reduces user safety hazards both directly from burningthemselves on the enclosure 20 or from accidents, such as accidentallydropping hot food, after unintentional contact with such hot enclosure20 surfaces.

Located directly behind the heating element 110, and held in place bythe left 230 and right 232 heater element support brackets, is aremovable cleaning shield 234. During rotisserie cooking, grease, oiland residue may be splattered off food as the food becomes heated infront of the heating element 110. Thus the area behind and adjacent tothe heating element 110 tends to get dirty. Heat from the heatingelement 110 bakes on the grease, oil and residue and makes cleanupdifficult.

The cleaning shield 234 may be coated with a nonstick ceramic coatingsimilar to that used in many of today's nonstick fry pans. This coatingis medium gray in color and thus tends not to show when it is dirty.

However, when it becomes dirty, the cleaning shield 234 is easy to cleansimply by gripping the shield 234 by its bent-over top edge 236 andpulling it up and forward 235 and out of the enclosure 20. Once thusremoved, the shield 234 may be washed in a sink or dishwasher.Reinserting the cleaning shield 234 is accomplished by reversing theremoval process.

By being behind and adjacent to the heating element 110, the cleaningshield 234 receives radiant heat from the element 110. When compared toa shiny surface cleaning shield placed behind the heating element 110,the medium gray ceramic coating on the cleaning shield 234 has beenfound to cook foods as fast or even faster than their shinycounterparts.

Although definitive tests have not been performed to prove the theory,it appears there are two reasons for this unexpected cooking efficiency.First, the medium gray ceramic nonstick coated cleaning shield 234 getshotter than a similar shiny cleaning shield. This in turn raises theinterior air temperature of the enclosure 20 which in turn reducescooking times.

Second, radiant energy striking the medium gray ceramic nonstick coatedcleaning shield is reradiated at a lower infrared frequency than radiantenergy striking a shiny cleaning shield. This lower frequency tends toabsorb quicker and deeper into foods which in turn results in shortercooking times.

These same cook time reducing features can be found with other cleaningshield coatings. As an example, self-cleaning oven interior coatingssimilar to those found in the DeLonge Alfredo Toaster Oven which todayis widely available in U.S. department stores such as Robinson-May andMacy's, show similar advantages and require even less cleanup thannonstick ceramic coatings.

The nonstick ceramic coating on the cleaning shield 234, by not readilyshowing when it is dirty, reduces the amount of cleaning that thecleaning shield 234 requires. This same coating, when compared to othersurfaces, makes cleaning the shield much easier. Cleaning ease is alsogreatly enhanced by the cleaning shield 234 being easy to remove fromand reinsert into the enclosure 20.

As mentioned earlier, the heating element 110 in the preferredembodiment remains constantly on during rotisserie cooking which createshot air which must be safely vented from the enclosure's 20 interior.

Directly behind the heat shield 234, on the curved center wall section34 connecting the back 26 of the enclosure 20 to the roof 24 of theenclosure 20, are upward facing vents 238. These vents 238 allow airheated by the constantly operating heating element to escape theenclosure's 20 interior. These louvered vents 238 are indented inwardwith their openings at the top of the indent.

This arrangement of upward facing louvers 238 reduces potential heatdamage to overhead cabinets when compared to more conventional indentedlouvers with their openings at the bottom of the indent. This is becausehot air must first rise above the louver 238 and then exit by droppingdown into the louver 238 opening rather than simply rising directlythrough the louver opening.

Forcing the hot air to first rise and then drop, reduces its velocityand creates turbulence which breaks up potentially damaging concentratedstreams of fast moving exiting hot air.

Placing the vents 238 on the curved wall section 34 connecting the back26 of the enclosure 20 with the enclosure's roof 24, when compared toplacing the vents on the back 26 or the roof 24 of the enclosure 20,helps hot air exit away from backing walls the embodiment might beplaced against, or exit away from overhead cabinets the embodiment mightbe placed under. Exiting hot air also tends to follow along the curvedwall section 34 breaking away slowly and this further disperses hot airconcentration.

There are gaps 240 242 244 246 between the glass door 32 and the frame116 it rests against on all four sides of the door 32. The gaps on thelower side of the glass door 32 generally allow cool air to enter theenclosure's 20 interior, and the gaps around the upper section of theglass door 32 generally allow hot air to exit from inside the enclosure20. This air movement helps control interior enclosure 20 temperatureswhich might otherwise rise to unacceptable levels due to the heatelement 110 remaining constantly on during rotisserie cooking.

The gaps 240 242 between the door frame 116 and the glass door 32 areexceptionally wide on both the left 242 and right 240 sides of the glassdoor 32. Hot air exiting out these left 242 and right 240 side gaps isdispersed and broken up by these exceptionally wide gaps 240 242 beinginclined with the glass door 32 which help form the side gaps 240 242.Such dispersion and breakup of the hot air rising from the inclined sidegaps 240 242 helps prevent heat damage to overhead cabinets which theembodiment might be placed under.

The interior temperature of the enclosure 20 is controlled by theventing already described both on the curved wall 34 connecting the back26 wall of the enclosure 20 with the roof 24 of the enclosure 20 and theventing from the gaps 240 242 244 246 surrounding the door. Anequilibrium is reached involving the cooking energy supplied by heatingelement 110, a cooling affect from the cooler temperature of the foodbeing cooked, the amount of venting, and the ambient air temperature ofthe room in which the embodiment is operating. In the final stages offood cooking the preferred embodiment is engineered to produce an airtemperature measured near the center of the enclosure's 20 interior ofaround 250 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Such a temperature, when comparedto both warmer and cooler cooking temperatures, has been found toproduce exceptionally satisfactory results in rotisserie cooked foodtaste and texture.

An alternate form of controlling cooking temperatures is shown in FIGS.7 and 8. Here the shaft of the gear reduced motor 212 is extendedthrough the case of the gear transmission 210 and a radial fan 258 isattached to the end of the motor's shaft. This fan 258 pulls through itboth cool air 260 from outside of the enclosure 20 as well as hot air262 from inside the enclosure 20. The cool air 260 and hot air 262 aremixed and the combined warm air move into the space between the interiorwall 101 and outside wall 99 of the double paneled right side wall 28. Along scoop shaped vent 264 adjacent to the right side of the glass door32 directs warm air out 266 over the exterior of the glass door when theembodiment is on and cooking with the glass door 32 closed. Thisdirected warm air 266 cools the exterior of the glass door to help lowerits temperature and thus the chances of a user getting burned bytouching its surface.

Other vents 268 at the top of the double paneled right side wall 28direct 280 the warm air moved by the fan 258 out 280 over the metal roof24 of the enclosure 20 thus cooling the roof 24 and lowering itstemperature to reduce the risks of burns from users accidentallytouching the roof 24 when it is hot. Air from these vents 268 is blockedwhen the warming/steaming tray unit 144 is placed on top 24 of theenclosure 20 thus increasing the heat on the metal roof 24 and allowingthe warming/steaming tray unit 144 to function in its normal way. Othervents may be placed in other locations around the double paneled rightside wall 28, such as example adjacent to the curved metal section 34 orback 26 of the enclosure, to help vent the interior of the enclosure 20and reduce the chances of accidental burns from a user touching thatsection 34 26 by mistake.

The enclosure 20 is generally symmetrical side to side when viewed fromthe front. However there a few exceptions to this. First, there is acontrol/motor housing 248 mounted to the outside panel 99 of the doublepaneled right side wall 28. The control/motor housing 248 has a powercord 250 extending out its back and contains within it: a three hourmechanical timer 222, a control switch 224, and a gear reduced 210 motor212 which powers the drive gear 208, referred to earlier, projectingthrough the interior panel 101 of the double paneled right side wall 28.The heat element 110, as described earlier, also projects from theinterior panel 101 of the double paneled right side wall 28 and issupported by brackets 230 232 attached to both the right interior sidewall 101 and the left interior side wall 103. There too is a light 98and light reflector 106 mounted between the interior 101 and exterior 99panels of the double paneled right side wall 28 which lights theinterior of the enclosure 20 through a translucent glass cover 100disposed on the interior wall 101 of the double paneled right side wall28. This light 98 has a red lens 112 which extends from the light 98through the light reflector 106 and exterior right panel 99 to theoutside of the double paneled right side wall 28.

The control/motor housing 248, as just described, is attached to theouter panel 99 of the double paneled right side wall 28. Instead ofmounting the controls 222 224 on the front face of the embodiment asmost conventional ovens do, the preferred embodiment mounts its controls222 224 more than one-third the way back on its right side. It alsomounts the control/motor housing 248 above the bottom of the embodiment,so that more than one-eighth of the outer panel of the double paneledright side wall 28 is left exposed under the control/motor cover 248 toallow items on the countertop 42 on which the embodiment might rest tomove and reside under the control/motor housing 248.

Placing the controls 222 224 in a separate housing 248 and placing thehousing 248 more than a third of the way back on the side and more thanan eighth of the way up the side of the cooking enclosure 20 has beenfound to maximize valuable useable counter space while simultaneouslynot significantly impairing the accessibility, usability, or requiredvisibility of the controls.

Adding to this accessibility, usability and required visibility of thecontrols 222 224, the surface on which they are displayed is inclined,and inclined both in plan and side views. Such double inclination, byfacing the controls 222 224 toward the user whose eyes and hands aregenerally disposed above and to the right side of the enclosure 20,helps in both the viewing and the use of the controls 222 224.

Two devices control the embodiment's operation. The first is amechanical three hour count down timer 222. This windup timer 222 allowsthe embodiment to operate for up to three hours without having to resetthe timer 222. An electronic digital can be substituted to perform thesame function. Three hours is appropriate because a fifteen pound turkeytakes about 12 minutes per pound to cook or about three hours in total.Thus three hours may accommodate such a large item without having excesstime which might result in timer inaccuracies and loss of safetyadvantages. As an example, a four hour mechanical timer might have itstime markings closer together on its dial and might have a mechanismwhich is inherently less accurate than a three hour timer. Both of theseconditions would reduce the timing accuracy for the user. And safetymight be reduced it the user could leave the embodiment for four, five,or six hours, instead of only three hours maximum.

The second control device is a control switch 224 which regulates thefunctions of the heat element 110, the gear reduced motor 212, and thelight 98. The control switch 224 is only functional when the timer 222is set and running with time on it. As shown in FIG. 5, the controlswitch 224 has three positions 252 254 256. Starting from the left, thefirst position 252 called “No Heat Rotation” turns on the gear reducedmotor 212, causing the spit assembly 170, if installed, to rotate, andturns off both the light 98 and the heat element 110. The light 98 beingoff, along with no light shining through the red lens 112, indicates tothe user that the heating element 110 is off and is not receivingelectricity. This first switch position 252 is generally used afterfoods have been rotisserie cooked to cool the foods down whilecontinuing the rotational flow of juices in and around the foods. It 252keeps foods moist while not allowing grease, oil and/or other liquids tosettle into the foods. It 252 may be used with the glass door 32 open132 134 87 or closed 85 depending on whether it's desirable to cool thefoods to serving temperature rapidly or slowly. If the first switchposition 252 is used with an electronic timer, the heat element 110might be run at lower wattage or cycled on and off during this coolingdown period to keep the foods warm for a prolonged period of time.

The second control switch position 254, titled “Normal Rotation”, isused for rotisserie cooking. In this control switch position 254 thegear reduced motor 212, the heat element 110, and the light 98 allremain on. The light 98 being on, along with light shining through thered lens 112, indicates to the user that the heating element 110 is onand receiving electricity. In the second control switch position 254,foods are rotisserie cooked for the amount of time set on the timer 222.

The third control switch position 256, titled “Pause to Sear”, is usedto brown or sear the surfaces of foods. In this control switch position256, the gear reduced motor 212 is turned off, thus stopping the spitassembly 170 from rotating, but the heat element 110, and the light 98remain on. Using this switch position 256 involves rotating the foodusing either of the other two control switch positions 252 254 until theside of the food to be browned or seared faces the heating element 110,and then turning the control switch 224 to the “Pause to Sear” position256. The food will brown or sear in this position 256 until the time seton the timer 222 expires.

Circuits to perform the functions described herein are well know to oneknowledgeable in the art and thus are not described in this document.

Besides the countdown timer and control switch, the gear reduced motoris enclosed in the control/motor housing. Although many types of motorsand gear transmissions might be suitable, a half inch stack shaded polemotor with spur and helical reduction has been found to produceparticularly satisfactory results in the larger size embodiment whosedimensions have been described earlier.

The smaller embodiment, whose dimensions were described earlier, mightuse a less powerful, and therefore less expensive motor, such as a gearreduced synchronous motor. Synchronous motors have an advantage ingenerally producing less noise than generally larger shaded pole motorsand other motors commonly used in rotisseries. Use of the spit plate asan extra large and durable final drive gear allows use of synchronousmotors which usually have less durable transmissions than those used onthe more expensive shaded pole motors.

Several accessories can fit on the spit assembly. As an example as shownin FIGS. 16 and 17, a metal wire basket 270 might be fitted. This wirebasket 270 might have a metal wire framework covered with a nonstickcoating to prevent foods from sticking to the basket.

The lid 272 of the basket 270 is fitted with a fixed wire tab 274 on oneside and a finger retractable wire tab 276 on the opposite side. Eachtab fits into one of several slots 278 280 defined by wires on each sideof the dished out lower part 282 of the basket 270. Thus the lid 272 maybe adjusted to clamp onto and hold during rotisserie cooking severaldifferent thicknesses of foods.

There is a certain degree of springiness in the lid 272 and the lowerpart 282 of the basket 270, and this springiness allows the food 284being held in the basket 270 to be clamped under pressure between thelid 272 and the lower part 282 of the basket 270 so that the food 284 isprevented from shifting while cooking. The same springiness allowsdifferent thicknesses of food to be held securely at the same time.Helping this ability to accommodate different thickness foodsimultaneously, the fixed tab 274 and the finger retractable tab 276 mayeach be inserted at different heights above the floor 286 of the dishedout lower part 282 of the basket 270.

Securing food in the basket 270 is a simple process. The food 284 isfirst placed on the floor 286 of the dished out lower part 282 of thebasket 270. The fixed wire tab 274 on the lid 272 is slid into 283 oneof the slots 278 on the side of the dished out lower part 282 of thebasket 270. The slot 278 chosen, and hence the height of the lid 272above the floor 286 adjacent to the fixed wire tab 274, should beslightly lower than the height of the food 284 directly adjacent to theslot 278.

The finger retractable wire tab 276 is then retracted 288 by squeezingon the movable 290 and fixed 292 handles of the finger retractable wiretab 276. The finger retractable wire tab 276 side of the lid 272 is thenlowered 294 to clamp the food and the retractable wire tab 288 insertedinto one of the slots 280 on the side of the dished out lower part 282of the basket 270 by releasing finger pressure on the movable 290 andfixed 292 handles of the finger retractable wire tab 276.

Attaching the basket to the spit assembly 170 is done by simplyinserting the two spit rods 176 178 through four integral semicircularloops 296 which are part of the dished out lower part 282 of the basket270, and then placing the second spit plate 174 over the ends of thespit rods 176 178 and inserting the spit assembly 170 with the basket270 in the normal manner into the cooking cavity 104.

The basket 270 is centered on the spit assembly 170 and fits between thetwo spit rods 176 178. This is different than most spit baskets whicheither have a spit rod running through their center or are placed offcenter to the spit assembly rotation axis. Those baskets with a spit rodthrough their center limit their capacity to cook large flat foods suchas steaks and fish. Those baskets which are placed off center to thespit rotation axis cook one side of the foods they contain morethoroughly than the other. By contrast, compared to these alternativedesigns, the basket of the preferred embodiment cooks food more evenlyon both sides and has the ability to hold foods up to the full size ofthe basket. In the real world, both of these are major advantages inrotisserie cooking.

The fixed 274 and finger retractable tab 276 lid 272 attachment designof the preferred embodiment also has major advantages over other lidlatching designs. As an example, many designs adjust to only onethickness of food. The preferred embodiment, through use of two tabs 274276 which fit into separate slots 278 280 which individually adjusttheir heights, not only allows adjustment to different thickness foods,but allows several different thickness foods to be held in the basket270 simultaneously.

Likewise, in contrast to lid attachment designs which are rigid, thepreferred embodiment is springy which allows it not only adjust todifferent thickness foods being simultaneously held, but allows it alsoto put clamping pressure on the foods, even foods of differentthicknesses, being held in the basket so they won't shift duringrotisserie cooking. Shifting foods tend to get damaged and to fall outof the basket. Rigid basket designs generally don't provide this springloaded clamping pressure.

The finger latching mechanism used on the preferred embodiment is alsosuperior in simplicity and ease of use compared to other basket designs.As an example, the basket on the preferred embodiment may be securedclosed with food in it using only one hand. Many other designs requiretwo hands to close and latch.

Such baskets may be made in several different sizes. FIGS. 16 and 17illustrate a relatively flat basket, perhaps as an example, one toone-and-a-half inches thick, which would be inserted with the spitassembly 170 in the low heat position 122 and hold such foods as steaks,fish and small vegetables. This basket's 270 perimeter is determined bythe maximum size which will fit between the first 172 and second 174spit plates and clear: the heat rods 110, the glass door 32, the cookingcavity ceiling 142, and grate cover 162.

A thicker basket, perhaps twice as thick as the previous basket 270 butotherwise similar in shape and dimensions to the previous basket, mightbe made to hold lobster tails, potatoes, and other larger vegetables andfoods, as well as hold all the kinds of foods the previous basket 270might hold.

Such a thick basket might also be made which would only extend out tothe perimeters of the first 172 and second 174 spit plates. Such abasket might be used when it is mounted to the spit assembly 170 and thespit assembly 170 is supported in the high heat position 202, closer tothe heat coil 110 where the reduced size would now allow the basket toclear. It would hold all the same foods the previous two describedbaskets could, but in smaller amounts. In return for these smalleramounts due to its restricted size, this basket would cook foods fasterwhen it was placed in the high heat position 202. This basket could alsobe used in the low heat position 122 if slower cooking speeds weredesirable.

A thinner version of this high heat basket might also be made for usewhere food thickness was not a factor.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, another accessory which might be includedwith the preferred embodiment is the rotary cooking container 298 whichstir fries and rotary cooks foods such as meats, vegetables, popcorn,shrimp, seafoods, etc.

This container can also be used with or without rotation but withoutheat inside the embodiment to marinate meats and vegetables by simplyputting the meats or vegetables into the container 298 along with amarinade or rub and leaving the timer 222 in the off position or turningon the timer and placing the switch into the “No Heat Rotation”position. The rotary movement, if used, helps the marinade penetrate allsides of the meats or vegetables or helps the rubs coat all sides of themeats or vegetables with little or no intervention on the part of theuser.

This accessory comprises a spit assembly 170 mounted cylindrical tubularhousing 300 with at least one opening on one end, such opening 302 whichmay be covered by a lid or door when cooking. Several agitation blades304 project from the interior surfaces of the cylindrical housing 300,and help move and direct food inside the housing 300 while the housing300 is being rotated.

As shown in FIG. 13, in use, the cylindrical housing 300 is mounted ontothe spit rods 176 178 through holes in the housing's ends 306 308.

A shape other than cylindrical may be used for the tubular housing 300of the rotary cooking container 298. As examples, the tubular housingmight be squarcle (cross between a square and a circle like an oldtelevision screen), square, pentagonal, hexagonal, irregular, or othershape in cross section.

To use this accessory 298, the user mounts the tubular housing 300 ontothe spit rods 176 178, puts food and possibly cooking oil, spices, etc.inside the housing 300 though the hole 302 or holes 302 in the ends 306308 of the housing 300, caps the housing 300 if a cap or door is to beused, and places the spit assembly 170, including the rotary cookingcontainer 298 with its food contents, into the low 122 or high heat 202spit mounting positions inside the enclosure 20.

The cooking process which follows this is like normal rotisseriecooking, except foods can be tumbled as they cook inside the container,and if cooking oil is present, a form of stir frying may be performed.

The rotary cooking container 298 may be fabricated from stamped, rolledor cast metal, or from glass or from other appropriate materials wellknown in the art.

An alternative rotary cooking container 299 is shown in FIG. 13A. Thiscontainer 299 requires no spit assembly 170 to operate, but insteadincorporates integral stub axles 301 303 and an attached spit plate 305with gear teeth 307 to support and rotate the container 299 inside thecooking cavity 104. Agitators 309 inside the container 299 help move andtumble the food during cooking, application of rubs, marination.

A liquid tight door 311 covers an opening 313 in the side of thecontainer 299 through which the container 299 may be loaded andunloaded. Steam and expanding and contracting gasses are vented througha small vent hole 315 located adjacent to one of the integral stub axles303.

This alternative rotary container 299 has large useable capacity becausethere are no spit rods running through its center. It also may be veryeasy to load and unload due to the large opening 313 in its side. Italso has the added advantage that no assembly is required, the containeris complete and does not require a spit assembly 170 to be placedthrough its center to operate. And this container 299 may be used forall the same function of the rotary cooking container shown in FIG. 13.

Either the rotary cooking container shown in FIG. 13 or the one shown inFIG. 13A add a convenient cooking feature of automatically agitatingfoods without user intervention. When cooking, this means that foodstend not to burn and may be cooked with little or no oil or fats. Eitherrotary cooking container may be nonstick coated on their interiors tohelp facilitate not using fats and oils during cooking. Such coatingsare well known in the art and thus are not described in detail herein.

Inserting and removing foods into and from the cooking cavity 104 of thepreferred embodiment is typically an easy process. However, thepreferred embodiment includes a pair of gloves 310 shown in FIG. 19 tosimplify the process. These gloves 310 are different than normal kitchengloves however. Their 310 outer surfaces 312 are coated with a flexible,water and grease tight material, like plastic or rubber, similar to aset of dishwashing gloves. This water and grease tight material coversan insulating layer of cotton fabric less than 1/16 of an inch thickwhich helps prevent hot foods from burning the user. The gloves 310extend over the wrists and cover part of the user's lower arm.

A user may lift foods, such as chickens, turkeys, steaks, ribs orvegetables, which are either mounted or not mounted on the spitassembly, both into or out of the preferred embodiment's cooking cavity104, when the food is either hot or cold, using the gloves 310.

The gloves 310 prevent the user's hands from getting dirty or greasy andhelp protect the user from getting burned when handling hot foods.

The gloves 310 also simplify handling cooked and uncooked foods ingeneral, and make easier the mounting and releasing foods to and fromthe spit assembly by removing concerns the user might have of gettingdirty and greasy, and getting burned when directly using his or herhands to help perform these tasks. The gloves 310 can also help protectthe user from cuts which he might get using knives or other kitchenutensils, or from the spit rods 176 178 and other rotisseries parts andaccessories.

The gloves 310 are washable simply by placing them under running waterand possibly using a little soap or detergent to help remove grease.

The gloves 310 are formed as normal four finger one thumb gloves,however they may also be formed as mitts with only one separationbetween thumb and finger enclosure areas, or they may have separationsfor every two or three fingers etc.

Unlike the gloves 310 that come with the preferred embodiment,conventional cooking gloves and mitts can not protect a user from hotgrease, liquids and oils when directly handing rotisserie cooked foods,nor can such gloves and mitts be easily cleaned.

Also, unlike the gloves 310 that come with the preferred embodiment,conventional cooking gloves and mitts generally do not extend over theuser's wrists and lower arms and thus do not provide protection againstburns in these areas which approach hot cooking cavity walls while theuser is reaching into the rotisserie cooking cavity to mount or unmountthe spit assembly and for other reasons.

What has been described herein is merely a preferred embodiment of thepresent inventions. It is not intended to show all possible applicationsfor the inventions nor should it to be deemed as limiting the scope ofprotection afforded to the present inventions. Such scope is defined bythe claims appended hereto and their legally interpreted protection.Many variations may be made which exhibit the present inventions but donot literally duplicate all or parts of the embodiments describedherein.

As examples: scale and proportions may be changed to provide increasecapacity or more efficient use of available space; materials may bechanged such as use of cast or stamped metals, or use of glass orthermoset or thermoform plastics to form the enclosure 20 or partstherein such as the spit plates 172 174 and drip pan 120 or other parts;other types of motors might be used such as PM dc motors, universalmotors, inductance motors, synchronous motors, etc.; pots, pans, frypans etc. might be used for heating foods on top 24 of the enclosure 20either to augment the warming/steaming tray unit 144 or in place of it;curved glass might be substituted for the single flat panel of glass 64used in the inclined door 32; the control/motor housing 248 might beround, square or other shape in side view; the light 98 might be placedin other parts of the enclosure such as in the forward upper corner;electronics and possibly remote controlled electronics might be used tocontrol the oven; bigger or smaller diameter spit plates 172 174 mightbe used to give more kabob locations and better mechanical driveadvantages or make handling of the spit assembly 170 easier; other typesof handles 90 might be used on the door 32 such as a more conventionalcenter handle or handles extending from the sides of the door 32, or ahandle going the full width of the top of the door; materials other thanglass might be used for the door 32 such as plastic or metal.

Such changes are in the spirit of the present inventions which arelimited by the claims herein and their legal interpretations.

1. A method of cooking an article of food within a rotisserie ovencomprising the steps of: a. providing a rotisserie oven that includes aspit rod assembly disposed therein, the spit rod assembly comprisingfirst and second spit rods that are parallel with one another and thatextend between first and second opposed end plates, wherein the endplates includes a first plate-shaped member having an inner side, aperipheral boundary, and an interior area wherein the interior area andthe peripheral boundary are positioned in two different planes, with theinterior area being recessed into the inner side; b. providing acontainer; c. placing the article of food in the container; d. slidingthe container onto the spit rods so that the container is interposedbetween the two end plates; e. rotating the container using the spitrods; and f. cooking the food.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1wherein the container is generally cylindrical, defines a longitudinalaxis and includes first and second ends, wherein the first and secondends include openings for receiving spit rods therein.
 3. The method asrecited in claim 1 wherein at least one of the first and second endsincludes a food introduction opening.
 4. The method as recited in claim3, wherein the first spit rod opening of the first end is aligned withthe first spit rod opening of the second end along a line parallel tothe longitudinal axis, and wherein the second spit rod opening of thefirst end is aligned with the second spit rod opening of the second endalong a line parallel to the longitudinal axis.
 5. The method as recitedin claim 4 wherein the aligned first spit rod openings and the alignedsecond spit rod openings rotate in the same cylindrical path when thecontainer is rotated about the longitudinal axis within the rotisserieoven.
 6. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the connection betweenone of the first end plate and respective spit rod and the second endplate and respective spit rod is a removable connection.
 7. The methodas recited in claim 6 wherein the connection between the other of thefirst end plate and respective spit rod and the second end plate andrespective spit rod is a permanent connection.
 8. The method as recitedin claim 1 further comprising the steps of: uncoupling the second endplate from one or both of the spit rods before step (d); and couplingthe second end plate with the one or both spit rods after step (d).
 9. Amethod of cooking an article of food within a rotisserie oven comprisingthe steps of: a. placing an article of food into a container thatsurrounds the food article, the food container being a basket having awire construction of open and closed outer surfaces; b. attaching thecontainer to a spit rod assembly comprising spit rod assembly comprisingfirst and second spit rods that extend through the first spit rodopenings and second spit rod openings, and loading the container andspit rod assembly into a cooking chamber of the rotisserie oven, whereinthe spit rod assembly is placed into contact with a means for rotatingthe spit rod assembly within the cooking chamber; and c. activating therotisserie oven to heat the cooking chamber and rotate the spit rodassembly within the cooking chamber to cook the article of food withinthe container; wherein the container is in combination with the spit rodassembly comprising the first and second spit rods disposed through thefirst spit rod openings and second spit rod openings, respectively, sothat the container can rotate in concert with the first and second spitrods, wherein the spit rod assembly further comprises a first end platehaving a center and being coupled to and essentially orthogonal to saidfirst and second spit rods, and a second end plate having a center andbeing coupled to and essentially orthogonal to said first and secondspit rods, wherein the first end plate includes a first plate-shapedmember having an inner side, a peripheral boundary, and an interior areawherein the interior area and the peripheral boundary are positioned intwo different planes, with the interior area being recessed into theinner side, wherein the peripheral boundary of the first plate-shapedmember is connected to the interior area through a generally frustumsection.
 10. The method as recited in claim 9 wherein the containerincludes a generally cylindrical body having a mesh construction. 11.The method as recited in claim 9 wherein during the step of activating,the spit rod assembly and container is rotated by the engagement of agear member disposed within the rotisserie oven with a gear member ofthe spit rod assembly.
 12. The method as recited in claim 11 wherein thespit rod assembly wherein at least one of the plates includes teethpositioned along an outside surface that engage the gear member of therotisserie oven to provide rotational movement within the cookingchamber.
 13. The method as recited in claim 12 wherein one of the platesis removeably attached to the spit rods.
 14. The method as recited inclaim 13 wherein one of the plates is permanently attached to the spitrods.